In any household many power consumers are connected to a mains grid. Often, the user of the power consumers does not know which devices are connected and consume power.
In order for people to use less energy/electricity in their homes, they need an itemized bill that clearly shows the usage and energy cost for each of their appliances. Without itemized data, consumers can take action to conserve, by either installing more energy efficient appliances (air conditioners, close washers/dryers, hot tubes, ovens, lighting, etc.) for changing their usage patterns in areas where pricing of energy/electricity varies by time of day, of simply turning loads off when not in use. The problem is that people do not want to incur the significant expense required to install power sensors on each of their appliances in the electric loads.
There is a need for an easy detection and analysis of appliances connected to the mains grid.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method, a system and a sensor for identifying an electrical device connected to a mains grid that is easy to use.
The object of the invention is solved by a method for identifying an electrical device according to claim 1, a system for identifying an electrical device connected to a mains grid according to claim 7 and by a sensor for identifying an electrical device connected to a mains grid according to claim 11.
Further details of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.